Iran - Andrew Burke [349]
Ali Taheri ( 4443 1105, 0912 134 9345; www.iran-tehrantourist.com) Tehran-based driver and guide with is own car.
Arash Sadeghzadeh ( 0917 317 1652; travellingtoiran@gmail.com) Young Shiraz-based guide with deep knowledge of and enthusiasm for Iranian history.
Gholamreza Shahdadian ( 0912 121 3969; www.wwguides.net/g_shahdadian) Experienced guide based in Tehran and specialising in tours to the northeast and the southern deserts.
Mohsen Hajisaeed ( 0913 351 4460; yazdguide@yahoo.com) Young, well-organised and connected guide based in Yazd.
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TRAIN
Travelling by train is an inexpensive way to get around Iran and meet Iranians, many of whom approach their rare rail trips with some excitement.
Iran’s first line was the trans-Iranian railway, built in the 1930s to connect the Caspian Sea at Bandar-e Torkaman with the Persian Gulf at Bandar-e Imam Khomeini. Passing through mountains and passes, it is one of the great engineering achievements of the 20th century. It will soon be joined by other engineering marvels. First among them is the track between Esfahan and Shiraz, which will quite literally bore its way through the Spartan mountainscapes of the Zagros as it links these two historic cities.
The line is part of an ambitious program to expand Iran’s rail network. Recently completed lines include Qazvin to Astara via Rasht and Mashhad to Bafq. The long-awaited Bam to Zahedan (see the boxed text) stretch is set to open late 2008, and other lines either being built or proposed by Raja Trains, the national rail network, include Arak to Kermanshah and Khoramshahr to Basra, in Iraq.
Tehran is the main hub and most services begin or end in the capital. There is at least one daily service to Mashhad, Esfahan, Tabriz, Bandar Abbas and Kerman. Trains usually depart on time, but departure and arrival times for stops en route are often in the middle of the night. For the latest routes and prices, see www.rajatrains.com.
The average age of passenger carriages is 26 years but they’re still fairly comfortable, efficient, reasonably fast and always cheap. For overnight trips a 1st-class sleeper is a delight, and while they cost a bit more than a Volvo bus, the comfort level is about 10 times greater. And, of course, trains are much safer than buses.
On most 1st-class services meals are served in your compartment and aren’t too bad. Long-distance trains also have a restaurant car, and iced water is available. Security is better than in most other countries in the region, but it’s worth asking someone to look after your luggage (or chaining it to something solid) before leaving your compartment.
Classes
The majority of trains have two classes, though a significant minority have only one. If you decide a 2nd-class compartment is too crowded for you, you can often upgrade to 1st class along the way, provided there’s space.
On overnight trains (usually to/from Tehran) the 1st-class carriages have sleepers with four or six bunks. They are not all sexually segregated and one reader wrote to complain of having a man in another bunk stroking her arm in the night; women might want to ask specifically for a single-sex sleeper. Some trains on the Tehran to Mashhad route, Iran’s busiest, are very comfortable indeed. The Simorgh, for example, is more expensive than other 1st-class options but includes dinner, breakfast, a very comfortable bed and the mixed blessing of a TV. You can ask to be seated in a non-smoking compartment.
Costs
As a rough guide, a seat in 2nd class costs about the same as a mahmooly bus, and a 1st-class seat is about 1½ times the price of a Volvo bus, depending on the class of train; see www.rajatrains.com for specifics.
Reservations
Train ticketing is on an integrated system, so you can book tickets at stations and travel agencies around the country up to a month in advance. Especially for trains leaving on Thursday, Friday and public holidays, it’s worth booking ahead.
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Health
CONTENTS
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BEFORE YOU GO